


Take My Revolution

by ohwhoadude



Category: The Lost Boys (Movies), The Prince of Pennsylvania (1988)
Genre: (VERY MILD MIGHT I ADD), (mentions of past domestic abuse and relationships with power imbalances throughout), Bloodplay, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, M/M, Nonbinary Marko (Lost Boys), Nonbinary Rupert Marshetta, Public Blow Jobs, but I will at least say:, look guys this is just a crackship ultimately idk what else to give you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:34:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27582110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohwhoadude/pseuds/ohwhoadude
Summary: Two years after their attempt to start a revolution, Rupert finds themself traveling the country until they land in Santa Carla and get a lot more than they bargain for when they run into someone new and his very peculiar group of friends.
Relationships: Marko (Lost Boys)/Rupert Marshetta
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	Take My Revolution

**Author's Note:**

> Oh God okay so. If I may explain myself.
> 
> A BNT server I'm in had some fun the other night by throwing out crackships of other characters Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter have played from Neo/Polly to Jonathan Harker/Polly and as a goof I threw out Marko/Rupert before sighing in despair when only a few minutes of thinking about it made me realize it's not a goof at all. My main worry about this is that it'll come off as Marko/OC and that I didn't write Rupert as well as I thought I did, but I'm hopeful. Secondly, I promise you Rupert not having they/them pronouns at the beginning will make sense and finally if you haven't watched POP, I'm so sorry since this spoils the biggest narrative moments of the film. You should watch it, by the way, it's pretty good.
> 
> AND LOOK I KNOW THE TIMELINES DON'T MATCH UP THANKS TO THE RELEASE DATES AND EVERYTHING. THIS IS A CRACK SHIP SO JUST HUMOR ME.
> 
> Anyway nobody but like...four people will read this probably, but my life is hellish at the moment and I needed to do something very self-indulgent for fun. Enjoy?

It’s been getting harder lately for Rupert to remember what it was like to be a prince.

Theoretically he knows he never really was; his dad was always full of shit and loved to self-aggrandize every chance he got. If he managed to get kidnapped by a naive teenager and an almost constantly stoned hippie, it still seems pretty evident to Rupert two whole years later how much of a lowly peasant he actually was. Yet now that he finds himself on his own again, it’s difficult to think about a time he could’ve had a title at all. When he and that beautiful punk girl ran off together once he realized he had no purpose left at home, he honestly had felt like a king. Kari, as he quickly learned her name was, didn’t have a thing to do either so they spent their road trip travelling the midwest doing whatever they damn well pleased instead of what young adults like them were meant to do. Stealing trinkets here, making love in cheap hotels there, and getting a fun thrill out of existing without anybody’s interests in mind beyond theirs made life worth living again after Rupert had to learn the hard way that not a single adult in his life cared about anyone but themselves.

He just really wishes that the honeymoon period lasted longer than those two years.

It was a few days after he turned twenty that Kari started to realize that she had bigger dreams beyond traveling the country with Rupert. She didn’t want to make money by selling knick knacks they picked from the junkyard or the few times Rupert managed to pawn off any of his little gadgets, but instead wanted to become a real adult with a real job like everybody else. It was while she touched up his undercut in one of those hotels of theirs that she gushed about wanting to do hair professionally for all of the rock stars she gushed over to him in bed and she actually seemed upset when he laughed it off. He wasn’t trying to be mean to her, he swore he wasn’t, but laying her life down for the almighty dollar seemed so passe to him now. Of course Kari was amazing at it, but the two of them weren’t like everybody else. They were misfits and they shouldn’t have had to pretend they were anybody different.

Kari, of course, didn’t care for that; the way she told him that he had to stop daydreaming eventually told him that much. She insisted that she join him on her trek to some beauty school out in California she’d read about in some magazine, but beyond the journey there, Rupert had no intention of sticking around. He did really love Kari, maybe just as much as a certain someone from his past, but he still felt restless inside at the prospect of being tugged down into domesticity again. Even if she accepted his decision to find his own way, Kari was clearly upset about dropping him off a few streets down from the apartment complex she was gonna try to gun for a spot in and Rupert had to swallow down any pain he felt as he forced himself to do what he usually did and ran to the nearest junkyard. If nothing else, Kari’s influence was enough for him to realize that if he only had himself officially, it was time to explore every part of himself.

After all, the first time he saw his undercut, the voice inside his heart that called Rupert Marshetta a “they” instead of a “he” screamed at him. Ever since Kari’s left, that voice has finally taken over and they’d been all the happier for it.

Sure, they’d spent their whole life never quite feeling like a boy while never quite feeling like a girl, but Rupert never really talked about it. Their mom humored them with the occasional motherly, “That’s nice, sweetheart,” acknowledgement every time they tried to talk about it when they were very little and obviously their father didn’t want to hear a word about it. In fact, Kari was just one of two people in their life that actually let them air out their feelings about their gender, so now that they’re truly on their own, Rupert’s aired out enough to feel like they can go ahead and wear those skirts they eye while window-shopping or pierce their ears to buy all that pretty jewelry they’d only stared at in the past. The fact that they land in Santa Carla after a couple weeks of travelling once they manage to get a new scooter only adds to their gender euphoria upon seeing all the gorgeous punks, goths, and burnouts running around.

Rupert isn’t going to think about the irony of them landing in a town with _that_ name in it, that memory and some of the things she said to them that filled their mind at the most inopportune times unable to kill any of the glee they feel.

Initially they intend to just bust around like usual while trying to make friends with all the weird, wonderful locals around them, but Rupert is as predictable as they were back in Pennsylvania and finds solace in someone much older and wiser. They know they have no choice but to make money in this capitalist hellhole called America so when the first guy that buys something they’ve made asks if they need somewhere to stay, they jump on it. There’s no signs of any uncomfortable sexual tension or borderline manipulation either; instead, Rupert finds a nice, even if incredibly eccentric, old guy in Mr. Emerson the wise-cracking taxidermist. They still don’t know what he actually does with his time beyond stuff gators, go on dates with the nice old widow of the neighborhood, and tend to his horses, but he respects Rupert just wanting to relax and make their gizmos like the wind chime made of pieces of a broken traffic light they sold him.

Plus the way Mr. Emerson just shrugs when he finds out they’re neither Mr. nor Ms. Marshetta is pretty great.

It’s so nice to actually have a house again too, stuffing their closet with all the new affirming clothes they’ve gotten. Rupert has actual dresses and tights now, most either some sort of punk aesthetic with a few neon and flowery exceptions. They still love their slacks and Hawaiian shirts and never seem to take off their work boots, but they’re convinced they could go with everything they wear. That’s no more true now than it is tonight as they decide to explore the boardwalk in a wildly mismatched fit that presses those aesthetics together. The way they feel overwhelmed by this giant playground of sorts helps Rupert distract from the way they know people must be staring at them for the wrong reasons. It’s only been a week since they’ve settled in at the Emerson Ranch and they still haven't made any friends, but they _have_ already played every rigged game multiple times to try to work around their trickery, rode every ride multiple times to get a feel of their exact mechanics, and eaten every greasy, cheesy, or sugary snack there is to eat just for the hell of it so they guess that's pretty cool.

What they’re doing now for the first time, however, is seeing Him where they sit high above in their seventh time in total on the ferris wheel.

Rupert knows it’s not the wind that’s sweeping along their legs in their fishnet tights that’s making them shiver, but the way the guy strolling past the ring toss booth near the wheel’s kiosk seems to meet eyes with him. He stands out so loudly in his sparkling, mosaic patterned leather jacket with jellyfish pinned to the shoulders that make them want to find something equally as silly to pin to their denim jacket. The only two people they’d ever been with were women, but something calls out to them about him as he stops and stares up at them with his arms crossed. Even if they have to squint to see it, Rupert swears there’s a smirk on his face as he waves upwards and they laugh nervously before looking away. They’ve always been a bit of a hopeless romantic in multiple ways so of course the attention feels nice, but Rupert still wants to stay alone for a while and they’re not gonna let some guy with cool fashion and long, glowing blonde curls pull them out of it.

Not to mention the warnings from Mr. Emerson about how that billboard calling Santa Carla the murder capital of the world isn’t totally wrong and they need to be careful out here. They might not know how to fully defend themself, but at least Rupert was going to be smart about it and not delusional like those kids from the comic shop that are too weird even for them. Blaming it on vampires? Get real.

Being smart’s easier said than done, of course, when that guy’s still on that block and grinning once he sees them step off their seat and down the stairs to the pavement. Now that Rupert’s getting a closer look, they can see his piercing green and hazel eyes, his cheekbones and jawline that look like Michelangelo sculpted them, and the leather chaps he’s wearing that leave nothing to the imagination. He looks like an honest to God model and it intimidates them even if they’ve got at least five inches over him, so Rupert tries to look as nonchalant as possible when he begins to follow them with a chuckle of, “Did you have fun up there?”

“I did,” Rupert replies coolly, not looking back as they try to remember where they parked their scooter. “Are you having fun chasing me?”

“I am.”

Rupert has to laugh at that, letting themself turn and face him as they walk backward. “And why are you?”

“You’re new,” he says with a shrug, the slight gravel in his voice making him sound so painfully casual about the whole thing. “I want to know you.”

“But why?”

“I like the way you look.” The guy grabs their arm and pulls them to the side of the boardwalk and Rupert wants to tug away and tell him off, but the rush of people that come running from behind them makes them stay quiet. “Plus you definitely would’ve got run over if I weren’t here. You’re welcome.”

Rupert rolls their eyes, but nods. “Thanks.”

They tug at where he’s still got his fingers wrapped around their wrist, making him laugh again and let go, dragging his fingertips along their skin as he does. “Can I get your name now? You owe me one.”

The correlation between the two doesn’t make sense to them, but they still sigh and say, “Alright, I’m Rupert. I’ve been here about a week and a half, but I don’t want to date anybody right now, alright?”

It’s a little annoying when this guy just laughs and trails after them when they walk away again, but they don’t think they’re in complete danger yet. It’s actually kinda funny when he flashes them another toothy grin and says, “You’re feisty, I like that. Nobody said anything about dating, though.”

“You don’t just stare at somebody like that you don’t want to date.” The way his eyes trail up their legs to the hem of their plaid skirt makes their cheeks feel warm, though, and they do feel some gratitude about being saved from trampling, so Rupert let themself add, “Even if I like the way you look too, uh -”

“Marko.”

Now he even sounds like something Michelangelo would sculpt. “Marko, then,” Rupert says before finally finding the trail that leads to the building they parked their scooter against. “I gotta get home, though, alright?”

“Aww man,” Marko whines. “I was just breaking you down too.”

That snaps Rupert out of whatever spell Marko’s charm’s been putting them under, stomping one boot hard against the wood of the boardwalk as they turn and glare at him. “You can’t force somebody to be into you,” they say, pointing their finger in his face. “It’s a total breach of boundaries and if you think I’m gonna fall for it, I’m not.”

Rupert can’t help but feel good about how Marko looks a little put out by their words, the man laughing sheepishly and putting his hands up in surrender. “It was just a joke, man. I really do just want to get to know you, I swear.”

“On a bible if I had one?”

Marko squints. “I don’t think I can actually touch one without it burning me, but I’d try it.”

Rupert can’t help the way they snort even if Marko’s trying way too hard to impress him, most likely also having been harassed by the vampire-obsessed kids. “Thank you for trying.”

“Of course,” Marko says before taking one of Rupert’s hands and kissing the back of it, looking at where their full name’s written on the tag inside the Hawaiian shirt covering their tank top blowing open in the breeze. “Not a problem, Mr. Rupert Marshetta.”

“Not mister.”

Marko’s brow furrows, mulling over what they mean before smirking. “Okay then, _Ms._ Rupe-”

The way they shake their head makes him stop, allowing Rupert to say, “ _Just_ Rupert.”

Marko’s face changes and Rupert worries they’ve blown it, but there’s warmth in Marko’s eyes suddenly, the guy looking like he knows all too well what they mean. “You too?”

Their hands are still linked but Rupert finds themself being okay with it as they smile along with Marko. “Yeah. Me too.”

Something about knowing there’s somebody else like them who has no need for gender norms compels them to want to stay, wondering what else someone actually their age might finally have completely in common with them. Rupert wants to ask when Marko realized, but the sounds of revving motorcycles shock them both out of each other’s gaze, turning to see three of them barrel onto the boardwalk. The group looks even edgier than Marko despite looking just like models too; one guy with luxurious, black hair is basically half-naked with a little boy sat behind him, one with spiked bleached blonde hair is somehow not burning up from the coat he’s got on while maybe the most beautiful hippie girl Rupert’s ever seen is attached to him, and the other blonde is on his own in an attractive mesh as he stares at Marko. “There you are,” that guy says, looking downright starving.

“Sorry, Paul,” Marko says, finally letting go of Rupert’s hand to face what appears to be his friends. “Got distracted.”

“Too distracted to come back with us?”

Paul’s looking between the both of them and Rupert wonders if they’re in the middle of something they shouldn’t be. “That’s up to Marko,” they say when Paul’s gaze lands on them.

“Oh okay.” Paul looks at the group, laughing out, “Hey Dwayne, it’s up to Marko!”

“Is it really,” Dwayne jeers, turning out to be that raven-haired adonis with them. “How about that, David?”

The last guy without a name flicks his hand at them to get them to shut up, David clearly being the leader. “I think that’s a fine idea, boys,” he says smoothly, a calm to his voice even if it feels like he knows a secret Rupert doesn’t. “So what is it, Marko? Do you let yourself have a little dessert or come straight home?”

Paul and Dwayne laugh while the girl and the kid roll their eyes, Marko joining them next to Rupert before looking apologetic. They can feel their cheeks getting hot at the idea of themself letting the person who’s slowly been growing on them whisk them away to let him eat them up under the boardwalk, but something about David’s tone makes them hide that and say, “If Marko really wants me for dessert, he better take me on an amazing date first.”

While David raises his eyebrow at them, Paul and Dwayne look disgusted as Marko, the kid, and who they’ve realized is probably David’s girlfriend laugh it up, making Rupert feel smug. “This one’s got spunk,” David says to Marko. “I like him.”

“They’re cool, yeah,” Marko says, seeming smaller than he had before his friends showed up as he stares at his boots and crosses his arms behind his back.

“Why don’t we show them around then?”

David’s eyebrow is still quirked up, staring at Marko expectantly as if it’s not actually a question. Rupert would usually be absolutely up for making mischief with a gang of cool bikers, but Marko seems so much different than how he’s been so far that they don’t know if they want to be near this one. “Nah, they were just telling me they had to go home. Another time, huh?”

The way David’s jaw clenches is quick, but not quick enough for Rupert to miss. “Alright. Then let’s go.”

Marko nods before leaving their side to hop on the back of Paul’s bike and if it isn’t for the way he winks at them and says, “Good night, Rupert,” before they all drive off, Rupert would think that he didn't care about him in the slightest.

They think about him for the next few days while they help Mr. Emerson around the house or out in the stables. Marko didn’t seem like he was in trouble when he left, but the shift in his personality was too noticeable for Rupert to shake. They know he could’ve just been boosting up any swagger he had to try to get them into bed, but they’d seen their mom turn inward on herself at the drop of a hat over the smallest tip-offs from their dad. Sometimes the worst can be hiding in plain sight and even though they’ve technically only known Marko for a matter of minutes, Rupert feels like it’s imperative they meet again to be absolutely sure.

And sure fine, they’d been thinking about what it would be like to kiss that pink little mouth of his while pillaging in the junkyard, but that’s not important. They’re kindred spirits and they want to make sure they aren’t alone for it.

During the few times they’ve been in town to get extra scraps or pick up groceries for Mr. Emerson, Rupert hasn’t seen a single member of Marko’s crew and all of the tantalizing counterculture around pales in comparison now. If they aren’t actually hurting him, David and the others seem so unbelievably cool on a level that they can only dream of achieving so they hope that things are on the up and up. As Rupert very quickly learns, they’re absolutely not morning people since it’s only when they decide to mess around on the boardwalk once the sun goes down that the group appears again. Paul and Dwayne are in the middle of screwing around on the merry-go-round as David’s girlfriend sits calmly with the littlest member of their group in one of the moving pews, David and Marko not too far behind as they smoke cigarettes against the boardwalk’s railing across the way. They’ve all got the same incredible outfits on while Rupert’s got the loudest, tackiest zigzag-patterned sweater over their torso and it’s the first time they’ve felt stupid dressing the way they do. It’s tempting to turn back and hop on their scooter back home, but they’ve never let themself be afraid even with the threat of an entire police department ready to chase them down.

Besides that, the way David immediately sees them approaching and smacks Marko on the shoulder before pointing down at them means Rupert would look like the biggest asshole for running away.

The way Marko lights up when he notices them perks them up, though, trying to look cool as they watch him wave and say, “Where have you been?”

Rupert snorts, running down those last few steps to reach him. “I don’t know, where have _you_ been?”

Marko shrugs. “Here.”

“What, do you guys live under the boardwalk or something?”

The way Marko laughs helps Rupert ignore the way David looks wholly offended. “Not officially,” Marko says before taking a drag and holding his cigarette out to them. “Want one?”

Rupert shakes their head before moving to lean against the railing on Marko’s other side, not minding the smoke. “What are you guys up to then when you’re not here?”

“Human relations,” David snaps, throwing his cigarette to the pavement and snuffing it out with his boot before pushing himself away from the railing. “I gotta talk to Star. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone, got it?”

Rupert knows that was only meant for Marko, the two of them watching as David heads for the still moving merry-go-round and effortlessly hops onto it. As Star scoops up the kid to sit in her lap so David can join her, they immediately feel the air shift as Marko clearly feels less uneasy once they’re alone. “What do _you_ get up to, Rupert?”

“I like to build things,” they answer, unsure if they should go for it and ask about David tonight. “Take trash and make it something new, y’know?”

“So - you recycle?”

“I _reassemble_ .” Rupert grins as they tug their messenger bag out from where it’s been sitting against their back to open and rifle through until they find something to show Marko. They land on a bag full of bits of PVC pipes and let out a satisfied _Ha!_ before pulling them out to hold up and say, “See these? I’m gonna make these huge lamps that spell out the names of Mr. Emerson’s horses in their stable - uh, I mean ‘cause I live at the Emerson Ranch, y’know?”

“Oh yeah, I know that place,” Marko says, sounding genuinely interested.

“He’s got three horses,” Rupert says excitedly, spelling out a few letters with their fingers as they speak. “There’s Trixie, there’s Belle, and there’s Lucy - Lucy like his daughter - and I think their little spaces should be special. Everybody and everything should get to be a total individual so I want to make sure they can be too because they’re really sweet and-”

Rupert loses their track of thought with the way Marko gently reaches out and pushes their hair behind their ear with a soft smile. “ _You’re_ sweet.”

They can’t stop the way they snicker and move back from the way Marko tries to cup their face. “You just want me to shut up, I know.”

“No, I don’t,” Marko says, shaking his head as he takes another drag. “I just wanted to make sure you knew. I think they’ll like that.”

“Thanks, then,” Rupert says, laughing again before flicking at their visible earrings, a pair they constructed out of small chains and bits of stained glass to form little “R”s. “I made these yesterday too. I could make you an M if you want.”

Marko flashes him a grin that makes his eyes crinkle in a way that Rupert’s fond of. “We’d match.”

That and the fact that Rupert realizes Marko’s palm has found its way against their cheek makes them yearn. “Guess we will.”

“Would you mind?”

They’re ready to say no, but the clank of David’s boots heading towards them accompanied by the sound of him clearing his throat makes them both turn towards him. “And just what are you two up to?”

He’s got his arm around Star’s waist who looks intrigued as she huddles close to him. Marko leaves his hand against Rupert’s face in kind and says, “We’re just talking.”

“Bullshit.”

Star scoffs. “Sometimes people do just talk, you know.”

“Not me,” David says before pulling her in for a kiss. “And I think maybe we should head off to do all that not-talking.”

“Have fun,” Marko says, taking a drag and blowing it David’s way before winking at Star.

Star smiles and winks back while David shakes his head. “I meant all of us, Marko.”

“And I said have fun to all of you.”

Paul and Dwayne join them as he speaks, Dwayne letting their small friend sit on his shoulders. “You’re gonna make Laddie sad, Marko,” the latter teases.

“He’s not the only one,” Paul says before glaring at Rupert.

They have to laugh with Marko and Star when Laddie shrugs where he sits and says, “I don’t mind,” but nerves bubble up in their stomach when David tuts once Marko won’t budge before he sighs out, “If you insist. You’ll just have to find a meal on your own then.”

“Don’t wait up, Dad,” Marko teases, rubbing his thumb against Rupert’s cheekbone to make his point.

“I won’t.” As he and the others head off to find their bikes, David grins behind his shoulder at the two of them. “You always do act like a lost little dog when you get your eyes on somebody, so make sure they've got a nice leash for you.”

_“You are like some stray dog I never should’ve fed.”_

Once the group’s out of earshot, something tugs at Rupert to finally confront what they’ve been thinking. “You don’t have to let him talk to you like that, you know.”

Marko chuckles and shrugs. “He doesn’t mean it.”

“Maybe not now,” Rupert says, leaning into Marko’s soft touch. “People say so many things they swear they don’t mean but the truth’s hiding in them somewhere.”

The smile on Marko’s face falters. “Sounds like you have experience.”

Rupert looks down, knowing they’ll just think about one of those lessons if they let themselves kiss into Marko’s palm like they want to. “I just want you to know that is all.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Marko says softly, grinning again as he takes one final drag before throwing his cigarette behind his shoulder onto the sand below. “David and the guys are like my family. They just get overprotective.”

Rupert squints at him. “Even Paul?”

Marko snickers and shakes his head. “Okay yeah, me and Paul fooled around for a little while.”

“I knew it,” Rupert says, tugging lightly at Marko’s jacket to tease him. “He looked like he wanted to kill me a minute ago.”

“He’ll get over it.” Marko brings his thumb down to rest against the corner of Rupert’s mouth and says, “I’ll protect you.”

“But will you think about what I said?”

Marko leans forward to kiss their cheek. “I’m already getting them really pissed off by staying back for you,” he says against them. “If that doesn’t tell them something, they’re idiots."

Rupert really wants to stick to their principles from the other night, but that forthright attitude that they embrace in a person makes them let Marko pull them in for a proper kiss right there on the boardwalk. They don’t mind the way they can taste nicotine on his lips or the way the dusting of stubble along his jaw scratches theirs, too caught up in getting to press their lips against someone else’s after months of missing physical contact like this. It doesn’t hurt that it’s someone with soft lips that feel like they fit against theirs and fingertips that are featherlight as they dance along their neck and down to their chest. Rupert becomes acutely aware of their height difference, feeling protective as they wrap their arms around his waist and delicately drift one hand under his jacket and rest their palm against the exposed small of his back. When they have to pull away, Marko raises himself high enough while pulling Rupert down to press his lips to their ear and whisper, “Is it still too soon to get under the boardwalk with you?”

They’re considering it, but the way the smack of a baton against the railing makes them jump away from each other answers for them. The cop with an ugly mustache and even uglier attitude holding it stares them down before wagging his finger at them both and saying, “There are families here, you know. Nobody wants to see that.”

Marko frowns before gesturing to the obviously hetero couple making out a few blocks down next to the postboard. “What about them? He’s feeling tit and everything.”

“That’s different.”

“How?”

Rupert doesn’t know if it’s their anger from how obviously bigoted the cop is or Marko immediately leaping to defend them, but they’re compelled to smile wide and say, “Because we’re the ones he wants to mount and he’s jealous.”

The officer grimaces, waving his baton towards them and saying, “I could have you arrested for that!”

“Try it,” they yelp before wagging their tongue at him and grabbing the railing for leverage as they hop off and hope they have a safe landing. As they hit the beach with a soft groan they hear Marko laugh and yell, “Fuck you, pig!” before he quickly joins them and takes their hand to pull them up and run away. They’re both laughing and breathless, both of them so not equipped to sprint in the sand with their respective pair of boots, but neither mind once it’s clear that cop’s not coming after them. 

Once they reach the parking lot, Rupert has to stop to catch their breath despite the way Marko seems perfectly fine, staying close to wrap around them and kiss their cheek again. “You’ve done that before, haven’t you?”

Rupert full-on giggles, the endorphins from being wrapped up in Marko on top of getting to be a huge brat to authority fueling them. “Pigs have never liked me very much.”

“Me neither.”

“Then we’d be a great team,” Rupert says, biting their lips together once they realize what they’ve said.

Marko still grins, kissing Rupert’s jaw this time. “You think so?”

Rupert laughs softly. “Hypothetically.”

“You mean it,” Marko says against them, his voice smug. “Thought you didn’t want to date anybody right now either.”

They look down to see Marko lightly picking at the hem of his sweater and try not to let that get to them. “We don’t have to call it dating,” they land on, resting their hand over Marko’s on their waist before craning their head to kiss his forehead. “It’s just relating to my new peer group.”

“So be in _my_ peer group, Just Rupert.”

Rupert grins. “Okay, Just Marko.”

They’re extremely grateful that cop never bothered to chase them once they find Marko’s motorcycle and he decides to reward them by sitting them down and sliding in their lap to kiss and buck against until they remember where they are and have to stop themselves.

Once they hop on their respective motorbikes afterward, the two of them make a pact to let the boardwalk be Their Place. Marko can’t promise he’ll be around every single night with how the others are, but he’s gonna do his best to make time for Rupert and that makes them feel wanted in a way they weren’t anticipating. The idea of being with someone new is way less scary and weird if they see it as two new friends just having fun in the moment even if a tiny part of them sort of hopes they get over it. It’s hard for Rupert not to be obvious the next morning as they sprint downstairs once breakfast is ready with a new pep in their step that makes Mr. Emerson laugh and say, “Someone had fun last night, didn’t they?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Just because I’m old doesn’t mean I forgot the signs, friend,” he teases before giving them a congenial pat on the shoulder connected to the side of their neck sporting a hickey they forgot to hide. “Good for you.”

Rupert just tuts and ruffles their hair enough to mask it, just making Mr. Emerson laugh more.

After making sure Trixie, Belle, and Lucy are fed once they have been, Rupert heads out for the junkyard again to see if they can scoop up any more bits of stained glass for those M earrings. While Marko has resigned to being called “he,” he’s been trying to embrace genderfuckery as Rupert found out while they calmed down in the parking lot and they want to help him any way they can. They’d even pierce his other ear just like they did for their own if they let him, but they didn't want to rush anything. Asking him on their own felt way too intimate for what they were right now, so making him gifts would be their limit for now.

Which sounds weird for a duo that nearly came in their pants together, but Rupert has no room to talk about what is or isn’t weird.

They just barely manage to get enough pieces to construct two “M”s that they put on a golden chain to match his hair and clean up a small decorative box they find with them to present it with. Feeling ambitious, Rupert decides to wear one of their new dresses with matching tights to the boardwalk this time with just a touch of eyeliner. This one’s a nice white sundress covered in lilies with a neckline that rests just under their collarbones and a flowing skirt that reaches just below their knees that’s delightful to spin around with. If Star can look amazing dressing like a flower child next to powergoth David, then Rupert reasons that they’d be just fine on Marko’s arm like this even as the thuds of their boots coming down the stairs once they’re ready contradict the soft aura they’re presenting.

They know they don’t fill it out that well with their flat chest, but they happen to like the way that part of them looks, so it’s fine.

It’s the video store they find Marko in this time, hovering at the counter with a bag over his shoulder and chatting with the cute girl running it. He’s got that grin on his face that he had when Rupert first met him, but the warmth his eyes had the last time they saw each other isn’t there. As they slowly step through the doorway and hide behind the display for some dumb slasher movie, they hear that girl laugh and say, “Give it up already, Marko, you know what I’m gonna say.”

“I do,” Marko agrees smugly. “And you’d be happy to know that I’m finally immune to you.”

“I never tried in the first place,” she gasps out, her laughter getting louder.

“That’s right, you’ll have to leave me alone forever now.”

She rolls her eyes, but humors him as she leans forward and shakes her head at him. “I’m sure whoever you gave me up for is a real winner.”

Rupert can’t help but feel warm at the way Marko’s voice gets softer as he says, “They are - Rupert’s _amazing_.”

They’re ready to approach and thank him, but as quickly as he’s said it, the counter girl’s boss is motioning for her to ring someone up and waves to get Marko’s attention. He’s a tall, bespectacled man who's not quite big enough to be imposing, but his booming voice is enough to keep Rupert at bay and not interrupt as he says, “I see you’re alone tonight.”

“Not for long,” Marko replies, that smile still there.

“Your merry band of miscreants are running late then?”

Marko shakes his head. “I’m not with them tonight, Max.”

Max chuckles, looking at his employee. “Is he bothering you again, Lexi?”

Lexi scoffs as she scans through the stack of tapes she’s been tasked with, but shakes her head. “He’s fine, don’t worry. It’s not me he’s after.”

“How interesting.” Max looks past Marko’s shoulder and nods kindly to a couple coming in next to Rupert’s hiding spot, making them jump and sprint to pretend to browse through the Action/Adventure selection in the hopes they don’t get noticed as they listen to him say, “You know I don’t like surprises, Marko. If you have something you need to tell me, I’d suggest you do it now.”

Rupert tries not to wince as they look down at the gift box in their hand when Marko’s voice takes on that smaller tone again as he says, “It’s not like that. I just might be meeting up with somebody, I swear.”

“Now where have I heard that before?”

“It’s true!”

There was a time two years ago when Rupert would’ve stayed out of it during their spying, preferring to use the truth they uncovered to their advantage later on. This time, though, they know they’ve got to rescue Marko from whatever grave he’s digging himself into which is why they let themselves take the opportunity to sprint back to their previous position. Once they’re sure they haven’t been found out, Rupert does their best to come forward with a flourish to make sure their skirt’s flowing out with a soft cry of, “Marko!”

Max huffs at the way Marko immediately spins around and looks like he’s been saved as he runs to them, resting his palms on their shoulders and invading their space in an inviting way. “Hey,” he breathes before kissing at the corner of their mouth. “You look really pretty.”

“So will you,” Rupert says before holding their gift out to him.

Marko’s brow furrows. “You made it already?”

“A whole pair.” Rupert laughs and shrugs as they watch Marko’s eyes light up when they open the box and look the earrings over before they say, “Had nothing else to do, so why not?”

They’re obviously just giving him a hard time and Marko’s ready to match him as he mimes trying to jam one of them through his unpierced ear. “You gonna help me with this if you’ve still got nothing to do?”

“I was thinking about it.”

“Good,” Marko says before placing the earring back in the box and leaning in for a proper kiss.

Rupert would’ve kept him there for more too to celebrate how eager they both are if not for the way they see Max chuckling dryly at the two of them over Marko’s shoulder. “What an interesting choice.”

Max extends his hand and introduces himself, making Rupert cautiously do the same. “I’ll take ‘interesting,’” they say afterward, staying close to Marko’s side.

“I’m sure there’s a lot you can take, Rupert.”

It’s hard to miss the way Marko glares up angrily at Max, Rupert unsure of what to make of the whole thing. “We should go now,” Marko says before wrapping his arm around their waist and guiding them out.

“Fine,” Max replies. “But Marko?”

“What?”

Max smirks. “Do ask me next time you find a new project, won’t you?”

Marko sneers at him. “Whatever, man.”

The glee Rupert felt over getting to kiss him in public fades away as soon as it had come once they’re out on the boardwalk out of Max’s sight. Were they really just a project?

“So,” Rupert starts instead of wanting to confront this head-on like they’re itching too as they walk aimlessly. “Is Max your dad or something?”

Marko frowns up at the night sky while he thinks it over, concerning them. “Sorta?”

Rupert frowns back. “What does that mean?”

“You know how that Emerson guy took you in?”

“Yeah.”

“Max did that for me,” Marko clarifies. “For David and everybody else too. It’s pretty cool, actually - he just lets us do whatever we want as long as we’re not total idiots about it.”

Rupert chuckles and nods. “That _is_ cool,” they say before resting their hand over Marko’s on their waist and giggling to themself when his cool exterior falters for just a second. “I just hope he’s not a total asshole when you are.”

Marko shrugs, stopping them near the cotton candy booth sat among the concessions line. “He’s only had to yell at us a couple times,” he says before nodding his head towards all the offerings in front of them and pulling his bag open to show a large beach towel hidden inside. “Want to finally get under the boardwalk with me for that date though?”

Rupert laughs at the way Marko winks before they say, “You were supposed to take me on the date _before_ you got me under there!”

“Why can’t we do both?”

They suppose they can get behind that.

The pair runs around picking up a little something from each stand with Marko emphasizing that Rupert has final say on what they get. They’ve got a little bit of each sort of cuisine with them, thankful that Rupert's able to discreetly steal one of the giant paper bags resting against the side of the fruit stand among the concessions’ offerings for the two of them to pack it all away in. Once they’re satisfied, Marko’s leading them off down to the beach properly this time instead of leaping off the boardwalk like children, the spot Marko finds for them underneath it secluded enough but with a perfect view of the ocean. Rupert immediately starts to sit right on the sand but stops when Marko snorts and stops them to get their towel laid out first. “Don’t want to get dirt all over you.”

Rupert appreciates the thought but shrugs even as they smooth out their skirt behind them this time before sitting on that towel. “Dirt adds character. I hate when things look too perfect, it’s just not reality.”

There’s room enough for them to sit next to each other with their food splayed out in front of them, Marko making quick work of that as he says, “Guess you’re right. Blood looks pretty cool too.”

“So you’re saying I _should_ get in the sand?”

“I did _not_ ,” Marko laughs out when Rupert starts to roll away before letting him pull them back to kiss once before returning to work. “I just think perfection’s bullshit too.”

Rupert leaves it there, happy to dig in once their spread’s laid out for them. Even if they’d just complained about embracing mess, they do try their best not to get any sauces or cheese on their dress since those would be ten times more difficult to wash out than dirt stains. They also know how excited they get while talking, specifically to cute people like Marko, so they try their best to be some sort of dignified as they dine on greasy fare like the pizza slice they grabbed and the street vender taco they chose while they properly get to know each other this time.

The way the pair go from silly topics like what's the biggest ripoff on sale above them to more serious conversations like how they both wound up in Santa Carla keeps them from noticing that Marko barely touches any food, too focused on his tale of being kicked out of his childhood home at seventeen. Because of how much more feminine he was than his brothers, his parents decided he was gay and had enough once they decided he was old enough to grow out of what they assumed would be a phase. Obviously Marko knows now that he’s not even a man let alone someone who subscribes to one concrete sexuality, but being left alone as a teenager in New Jersey terrified him enough to spend the next three years getting as far away as possible. It was a miracle once he arrived in California and managed to stumble into Max who gave him a home and a new family with the others once he heard how long he’d hustled and busted his ass to try to live.

Star came next thanks to David and Laddie’s the latest thanks to Marko, something that makes him finally take an elephant ear and pick at it while he scowls and says, “That’s the one time Max has gotten pissed off at me for something, but he got over it.”

Rupert frowns, unable to imagine why because, “He’s just a kid, why would he get mad?”

“See with Star, David got his permission,” Marko answers, popping a ball of fried dough into his mouth. “It’s bullshit, though, David was thinking with his dick and he’s so lucky Star actually likes him and got cut off by her parents.”

“So what about Laddie?”

Marko sighs, his fists clenching and unclenching as he remembers. “We were all up there like a month ago just messing around and I heard this guy yelling next to the arcade. He was telling his kid how he couldn’t do anything right and his mom made a mistake keeping him and then I heard this smack-”

Rupert jumps at the way Marko claps his hands together hard enough to echo into the cool, night air, staying quiet as he finishes, “And the next thing I heard was that kid crying - Laddie crying. So when his dad wasn’t looking, I ran and told him to come with me so I could get him out of there. Nobody’s tried to find him either and that and the way I heard his dad laughing at him for crying made me so fucking mad that I wanted to-”

“Marko, it’s okay,” Rupert rushes out, grabbing Marko’s wrists where his hands are dangerously close to ripping that elephant ear in half. “He can’t hurt him anymore now. And who cares what Max says? You’re a hero.”

Marko looks embarrassed, chewing at his bottom lip as he carefully splits both halves of his elephant ear instead and hands one to Rupert. “He just doesn't like anything sprung on him,” he sighs out, watching Rupert idly chew at their half. “Taking care of a kid is pretty wild too, but he’s better off with all of us than them, right?”

“Now he just has three big brothers and one big sister,” Rupert offers, trying not to wonder if Roger’s okay stuck at home between their parents without them. “And some sort of fantastical something sibling with you.”

Marko snorts. “Fantastical something?”

Rupert shrugs. “I’m just glad I get to know someone that actually saved somebody.”

When they look back down at their sugary sweet, Marko stops them to lift their face up by their chin. “Who did you try to save?”

_Mom, Jack, and Roger, but not Carla, definitely not Carla who’s gotta be in Sacramento by now which is just two hours and twenty one minutes away because after Kari I had to do the math since I thought about seeing Carla and her little girl just like we were supposed to do by ourselves until Carla put herself over me just like everybody else did after I-_

Rupert bites their bottom lip and shakes their head. “I’ll tell you some other time.”

They’re relieved when Marko accepts and kisses them so tenderly that it feels like the first time he’s ever done it. He rests his forehead against theirs before he says, “You can go ahead and pierce my other ear if you want once you’re done.”

The rush of excitement they feel over a new topic on top of getting to do that for him influences Rupert to rush and practically swallow the rest of that elephant ear whole. “I can have leftovers tomorrow.”

Marko just laughs before moving his hair away from his right ear while Rupert wipes away the excess sugar off their hands onto the towel before they pull the plastic lid off their drink to pluck out an ice cube. They’re both lucky it hasn’t melted yet and that Rupert’s been drinking water instead of any soda that could do something weird to his piercing. As they pass it to Marko to let him numb his ear, they rifle through their bag to find a needle; they always had little supplies like that handy in case they found something incredible out in the wild that compelled them to tinker right then and there. Once they find the perfect one, they look at the bit of Marko’s usual black skull earring peeking out from his curls and remembers how he told them that Star was responsible for that one being quick and painless.

They can only hope to compete with the way Marko’s grinning and stretching his legs out before he says, “Come on, you can sit on my lap to do it.”

Rupert wants to hide the way they blush over it with their hair once they slide over to sit on him, but they can’t if they want to do this right. “You just want me to straddle you,” they say as they flip their hair out of their eyes. “Admit it.”

“It’s a plus,” Marko says as he gently slides his hands over their waist, pressing his fingertips in lightly. “This dress feels softer than I thought it would.”

“How long have you been thinking about how it would feel?”

“Do I have to tell you?”

“Yes,” Rupert says before sticking their tongue out at him. “I thought I was being more interesting than that.”

“Come on, Rupert,” Marko says, running one of his thumbs against their side. “You think I’m the kind of person that’s not gonna listen to you when you- _hah!_ ”

Rupert beams at him as they quickly grab one of their napkins to wipe at the blood on his now-pierced ear. “No, but you’re really easily distracted. Did that hurt?”

Marko shakes his head before moving one hand away to pull his gift box out of his pocket. “Wanna do the honors?”

“I’d love to,” they answer, careful as they can be when they slide the first one into his newest available ear. “Still okay?”

“I’ve had worse, I promise.” As Rupert picks out the second one, Marko moves his hair back and behind him before taking out his older earring and gripping it in his hands. “You keep it.”

Once they’ve got the second earring in, Rupert looks down at the way Marko presses the black skull into their palm and folds their hand shut. When he raises it up to his mouth to kiss their knuckles, they feel compelled to lick their lips and say, “I, um - I tried to help people back home who never asked me to. I guess they never wanted me to either.”

Marko hums against their skin before kissing there again. “Do you want any help from me?”

Rupert nods slowly before grabbing the strap of their bag and pulling it off to lay it next to them in the sand. “Yeah,” they breathe out before letting themself be tugged down so Marko can lay back and pull them over top of him.

Even if they’re careful to place Marko’s earring onto their bag, their thoughts are empty besides the need to cup Marko’s face and let him waste no time slipping his tongue between their lips. The way Marko’s leather-covered palms are spread out along their back and drifting lower with each slide of their mouths together has them whimpering against him, only feeling so easy because of how long it’s been. Their makeout on Marko’s motorcycle was quick and unfocused, but the way Marko drags his fingers down to catch the hem of Rupert’s skirt and drag it up and away so he can cup their ass with both hands over their tights feels deliberate and thought out. Marko really had managed to hang on their every word tonight while knowing exactly how they wanted to seduce them and it makes them feel important as he squeezes once to make them thrust forward.

The feeling of their delicate tights and his too tight jeans pressed together makes Rupert and Marko both pull away to gasp out, grinning at each other before Rupert leans in for a teasing, quick peck against his lips while they move. They lean back just as Marko tries to get more, laughing when he misses before kissing his cheek instead as a further tease. Just as they’re planning to give him a third, Marko brings his hands up to grab their waist and roll them onto their back, pushing their empty takeout boxes out of the way as Rupert gasps out. Marko laughs down at them before pushing their hair out of their face and saying, “That’s what you get.”

“That’s not fair,” Rupert counters, trying to keep their composure even while Marko’s hands drift under their skirt and up their thighs. “You’re supposed to help me, remember?”

“I still will,” Marko says while he stays focused on their face as he reaches the waistband of their tights and tugs it down. “But if this isn’t what you had in mind then say so, okay?”

It’s once he’s got them down to their ankles that Rupert remembers where they are, the smell of popcorn and the sound of the tilt-a-whirl creaking wafting down from the cracks between the wood planks above them. They can see brief flashes of light and darkness as people walk over them and while it’s not the first time they’ve done something like this in a suspicious place, it’s the first time it’s felt this salacious. Rupert’s breath hitches in their throat when they feel Marko kiss along their thigh before they move on their forearms and look down to say, “People will hear us, y’know. You okay with that?”

“Totally,” Marko says before reaching for the waistband of their briefs, his fingers curling against it and his eyes darting between their face and the tent they’re already pitching as he waits for permission. “I gotta know if you sound just as pretty as you look.”

That makes Rupert nod for him to proceed, the sight of Marko pulling off his fingerless gloves and jacket to reveal his cropped tank top once he does before he crawls between their legs and under their skirt to get his mouth around them being enough to be more than okay with how many other people will find that out too.

After he blows their mind and they flip him over to touch him until he’s pulling them down to lick into their mouth over it, they’re both too comfortable cuddled up for Rupert to mind the way a gust of cool wind blows past them and flips their skirt up to show them off. They don’t even acknowledge it until Marko scoffs playfully and tugs it down for them with, “Have some modesty.”

Rupert just laughs before kissing his cheek and saying, “Says the one with his dick hanging out?”

The way Marko rolls his eyes before pulling them in with a growled little, “C’mere,” just makes Rupert laugh even more.

Once they’re cleaned up and properly dressed, it’s time for Marko to head home with the excuse that the others are waiting up for him for a late dinner which explains why he barely ate. He lets Rupert lead him to the parking lot this time and promises them that he’ll make sure every date they have after this will be even better than the last and it’s clear it’s hard for him to pull away from their good night kisses. Rupert rides home with purpose once they part, knowing they need to do everything in their power to keep a level head and not fall too hard for him knowing how falling for somebody they barely knew has hurt them before.

But it’s so, so difficult when Rupert knows there probably isn’t anybody else like Marko in Santa Carla that wants to pay attention to them like he does.

Maybe his friends, sure, but they don’t count; they’re just pieces of the Marko puzzle, people that have helped shape and protect him. Of course Rupert still feels a little uneasy about the way the guy that’s basically Marko’s dad spoke about him, but they’ve seen what an abusive father looks like firsthand and know they’ll be ready if they have to step in. Marko’s proven he can defend himself too which is why making sure he has somebody in his corner is only part of the reason they want to keep seeing him. It’s still odd to Rupert that they’ve never seen him or either of the group in town during the day, not even fully know what they do in the daylight beyond David’s stupid joke the other night.

A thought crosses their mind as to why when thinking it over as they tend to the horses back home, but Rupert laughs away the memory of those kids rambling to them before they can even finish it. Vampires still aren’t real and they’re sure Marko has a good excuse.

Their next few dates go supremely well, though, even if they’re all still at that damned boardwalk. Rupert makes Marko laugh by pretending to shoot that pig from the other night with the toy gun he won for them, Marko helps Rupert find some new items of clothing that make them look like they belong in his found family, and the both of them find new ways to explore each other’s bodies under the boardwalk or in the parking lot after no longer caring who sees them. Marko might be smaller than Rupert, but he’s proving himself to be more domineering even as it’s clear he wants to be the one to take it once they go all the way. The contrast is exciting and they can’t help but think about it when they’re alone at night, thankful for Mr. Emerson’s weak hearing and the master bedroom’s far distance from theirs when they let themself indulge in the fantasy of what’s to come. When it reaches the point that they can't even focus at the junkyard, Rupert knows that it’s time for them to invite Marko home away from the explosive atmosphere of Santa Carla’s heart and into something much quieter.

Things have never, ever quite worked out for Rupert the way they want them to, though, as they’re reminded of when the entire crew are in tow the next time they see Marko, who looks forlorn as David grins devilishly at the sight of them. “And now the gang’s all here,” he says, cocking his head where they’re all sitting on their motorcycles in front of the building housing the boardwalk’s mini golf course. “Care to join us?”

Rupert also stays put on their scooter, trying not to feel like a poser in the leather jacket Marko bought them that’s covering the Hawaiian button-up that’s always been a little too big for them. “Since when was I in the gang?”

“Any friend of Marko’s is a friend of ours.” David looks back at Marko who’s in the middle of getting shoved at by Dwayne in what Rupert hopes is out of encouragement. “Besides you can’t really like the same boardwalk hookup every week, c’mon.”

“They probably won’t let him do anything else,” Paul says next to Marko who sneers and kicks at him.

Rupert drums their fingers along their handlebars and smirks at him. “I bet I actually know what he looks like when he gets off unlike somebody here.”

“Oh man,” Dwayne sighs out, laughing pitifully at Paul who flips them off. 

David joins him as Star lets go of his waist to clap for them, but all Rupert can focus on is how Marko smiles sweetly at them. It’s just enough to not make them worry when they’ve all calmed down and David revs his engine once before he says, “I mean it, though, Rupert. We’re having a get-together back home and you’re the only one on the guest list. I’d hate to see you two to run off again without you getting the grand tour first.”

Rupert can’t ignore the way Marko shakes his head behind him, making them start to get wary again. “Are you guys gonna kill me?”

“Only if you piss us off.”

“And what if you piss me off first?”

“Marko says you wouldn’t hurt a fly,” David answers. “But nice try. Now follow us - you won’t regret it.”

Rupert jumps at the way David peels out immediately with Star looking completely unfazed, Paul and Dwayne with Laddie around him following him quickly. They turn to Marko who shrugs and says, “It’s okay, c’mon,” before he nods towards their direction and moves.

As they cautiously follow him down the stairs towards the beach and away from the pier, Rupert knows that Marko trusts them too much if he really thinks they would never hurt anybody. Beyond bits and pieces about how Carla broke their heart, they still haven’t told him the full story of their last few weeks in Pennsylvania so they don’t kill the sassy but sweet mood the two of them have set, not to mention ruin it for themself with the memories still feeling so fresh. As they listen to Paul and Dwayne whoop and cackle ahead of them, Rupert briefly wonders if they’re minutes away from losing the ability to tell anyone at all.

That stupid thought they got the other day about stupid vampire fantasies starts to bounce around in their head again until halfway through the journey, Marko stops and looks back at Rupert as he does with a nod towards the right of the woods they’ve gotten into. Once Rupert’s sure that the others haven’t noticed, they speed up to join him, revving the engine in determination when Marko calls out, “Emerson Ranch is this way, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Lead the way, that’s why!”

Rupert smiles wide. “Alright,” they cry before speeding off so he can follow them.

It’s a little nerve-wracking when they realize the ranch is further off from the coast than Hudson’s Bluff, but it doesn’t seem like they’ve been followed once they get there. It’s an extra relief when Rupert remembers that Mr. Emerson’s out with the widow Johnson and definitely won’t be home until the next morning, knowing that Marko would have to deal with a full interrogation if he were. As they shut off their engines and Rupert rifles for their house key, Marko seems too innocent as he dismounts his and asks, “Can I come in?”

“Uh, yeah,” Rupert chuckles nervously. “I wouldn’t have let you come if you couldn’t, you don’t need to ask.”

“Yeah, I do.”

Marko sounds deadly serious which makes Rupert turn pink without thinking about it. “How chivalrous of you,” they say before hopping off their scooter and taking Marko’s hand. “I might let you kiss me if you keep that up.”

“Right on,” Marko plays along, letting Rupert tug him onto the porch. “Do I get to feel you up too?”

Rupert waits until they’re in front of the door to pull Marko toward him and slot their arms around his waist, barely brushing their lips against his when they lean down for a kiss. “You get to do whatever you want to me tonight.”

“Shit,” Marko whispers, leaning up for another when Rupert laughs softly at how in awe he sounds. “I think I can think of a few things to do in that case.”

“Then come inside so we can do them.”

“I gotta talk to you first.”

Rupert’s grip on him loosens, not wanting to overwhelm him. “What do you want to talk about?”

Marko looks down, laughing to himself with a shy grin on his face. “I gotta own up to some stuff that I should’ve before,” he says before looking at the door. “You might not like me after.”

“I don’t think so.”

That makes Marko look back up and kiss them before pulling away to let them unlock the door. Once they do, Marko waits on the front step until Rupert has to invite them in one more time with that letting him finally walk through the doorway. As Rupert locks the door behind them and tries not to be rattled by his behavior, Marko shrugs off his jacket and tosses it onto the couch before surveying the quirky, wood cabin interior. “This guy really likes dead things, huh?”

“I like them too,” Rupert says as they hang their bag up next to the door and set their jacket next to Marko’s before looking over Mr. Emerson’s work hanging all around the den. “All these animals get to have new life here. Maybe some of them are ugly, but what good art isn’t at least a little ugly?”

“Like he took trash and made it new?”

Rupert can’t help but be charmed even as they fear what Marko might have to say. “Exactly.”

They lean against the back of the couch while Marko takes his gloves off, trying to focus on that instead of his exposed stomach that’s tempting them even in the tense air of the room. After Marko tosses them into the clothes pile the two of them have made, he looks back up at Rupert and clenches his jaw before he says, “You guys have way more in common than you think, Rupert. Turns out you’re way into dead things too.”

Rupert frowns and shrugs. “Stuffing things is cool, but I’m way more into mechanics.”

Marko laughs, shaking his head. “That’s not what I mean.”

“Then what _do_ you mean?”

“You ever talk to those kids at the comic shop?” Marko asks, starting to frustrate Rupert the longer he speaks. “The ones whose mom and dad just get stoned all the time and make them run it.”

Rupert scoffs and crosses their arms. “Let me guess - you’re one of those hideous, man-eating vampires that’s gonna suck my blood before you turn into a bat and fly away.”

“Yeah, totally,” Marko snickers out, looking down at the wood panel floor as it gets louder before he’s outright howling with it, the absurdity of the question making Rupert join in too. They’re happy to kill some of the worry they have that Marko’s actually here to end whatever they have or tell them his family actually does hate them. Once he’s calmed down, Marko rolls his eyes and says, “The bat stuff’s all bullshit, though, we just fly looking like this,” without a hint of irony to his voice. “But I swear it looks cool.”

Rupert still idly giggling, their brow furrowing as they wait for another punchline. “I’m sure it does,” they say, staring at him to watch his serious expression change. As they let out a few weak gasping breaths, Marko just keeps staring at them, and Rupert feels their blood run cold the longer he stares. “Alright, it was incredibly funny, so now you can give it up, alright?”

“Give what up?”

“The vampire stuff,” Rupert says. “That stuff’s not real, Marko.”

Marko swallows thickly as his eyes trail over Rupert’s neck. “I also don’t want to suck your blood,” he says softly as he stares at them. “But the rest? That’s real, Rupert. Nobody’s gonna believe a couple kids so nobody’s found us out yet, but it’s true.”

“Stop it,” Rupert insists, having had enough. The last two breakups they had were upsetting and embarrassing, but they were not going to have a burgeoning relationship end by way of someone telling him something stupid like this. “If you don’t like me, you can just tell me.”

“I do like you,” Marko says, reaching out to link their hands together. “That’s why I wanted you to know and why I didn’t let them take you home to find out the hard way that we all are.”

“What the hell’s the hard way?”

“David screws with your head to get him to trust you and then he turns you.”

“So David did hurt you,” Rupert says, gripping his hands tighter. “I’m gonna go to Hudson’s Bluff myself then and show him why he’s gonna regret that.”

“You don’t get it,” Marko pleads, keeping them close when they start to pull away. “That was one time and now he’s like my brother. He just acts like a dick sometimes because he doesn’t want me or anybody else to get hurt again like we did before Max took us all in.”

“But you know it's bad enough that you kept me from it so what’s the truth?”

Marko sighs, letting go of their hand and cupping their face to get them to focus on him. “After we met, the guys kept telling me I should get you to join, but then Max got all weird about it and said we don’t need a seventh. David argued about it and said if he got to keep Star, then I should get to keep you.”

Rupert feels crushed, starting to wonder if anybody that meant something to them saw them as an actual person. “So I’m a thing for you to keep now. You turn me and show me off on the boardwalk to all the fleshbags up for the taking and that’s all I get to be?”

Marko laughs softly. “You’re way more than that, Rupert.”

Rupert howls out their imitation of a siren, pushing Marko’s hands away and flailing their arms around as they march through the living room. “Newsflash,” they shout, impersonating a newsman. “Just Rupert Marshetta and Just Marko The Bloodsucking Vampire are now together in hell for all eternity. Everyone’s cordially invited to a most disgusting of occasions to see them rip into the necks of-”

“Nobody because I’m not letting him get you!”

That makes Rupert stop in front of Mr. Emerson’s desk, looking down to see a silver crucifix laying there among his little collection of trinkets. “Why not? You’re just gonna make them mad.”

“I don’t care,” Marko insists, walking over to where they stand. “Look, I don’t know what that Carla asshole did to you, but I know she wanted you to be something you’re not so she felt better and if you’re gonna get turned, it’s not because David or Paul or anybody else thinks that’s what’s good for you.”

Rupert grips the base of the crucifix and takes a deep breath. “Do you want to turn me, Marko?”

“I want what you want.”

That makes Rupert turn around and hold it out towards him, waving it in front of his face as they say, “Don’t mess with my head!”

“Shit, Rupert,” Marko cries out, holding his hands up and backing away. “I’m not messing with you!”

“You really think I wouldn’t hurt somebody?”

“No way. You’re the nicest person I know.”

“I held my dad hostage for a whole weekend so I could leave my dirtshit town and go somewhere else,” Rupert says, their voice shaky. “The only reason I didn’t blow his brains out is so I could get his money.”

Marko stares at them incredulously, lowering his arms slowly and approaching them carefully. “Did you get any of it?”

Rupert shakes their head. “I had to let him go and ran away with shit when my mom stayed with him and when - you know what else. You don’t know me. Nobody does.”

“I know your dad’s a piece of shit. Right?”

“Yeah.”

“And Laddie’s dad was too,” Marko says. “Which is why it felt so good eating him once I got Laddie away from him and turned him.”

Rupert's stomach turns as the confirmation settles in. “You really eat people?”

“If they deserve it,” Marko says, nodding. “I’d eat your piece of shit dad too if I could.”

The rage Rupert still feels inside every time they remember seeing their mom after their dad hit her makes them wish they could go back and finish the job, but they always force themself to swallow that pain down. They’re a brat and an asshole when they want to be but the idea of actually taking someone’s life is messing with their psyche. “Marko, do you swear you only go for people who deserve it?”

Marko nods slowly. “Skinheads and pigs are our favorites.”

Rupert laughs despite themself, the vice grip on their heart from how conflicted they feel threatening to break them in half. “How - how long have you been like this?”

“Max picked me up when I turned twenty,” Marko says, still staring at the crucifix that Rupert’s grip is getting softer against. “And that was five years ago.”

“So that means-”

“Yeah.” Marko grins as Rupert brow furrows in thought. “Being twenty forever has its perks.”

Rupert clutches the crucifix to their chest, staring down at it and unsure of what to do with themself. “You don’t have to do what anybody tells you like this, do you?”

“Never,” Marko says, now being close enough to kiss them if he wanted. “I told you - as long as we’re not total idiots who get caught or eat somebody that’ll get too much attention, we’re free. No jobs, no growing old, and nothing can hurt us unless you know what to look for. It’s like a dream you never have to wake up from and I know you’d love it but only if you want it and not because I want you with me.”

It’s everything Rupert wants: a world where they get to live as they pleased with nobody around to yell at them to do something with their life _and_ they get to have Marko, this handsome, captivating beacon of hope that literally dropped into their lap when they needed him most by their side. This is all so impossible and weird, though, especially for someone like Rupert whose wildest life experience was at their own hand by way of a failed kidnapping plot. Vampires running around absolutely couldn’t be the truth, Marko being one absolutely couldn’t be the truth, and the way they’re actually standing here and considering it if that meant they could actually get everything they wanted absolutely could not ever be the truth.

The truth has never been something convenient and acceptable for Rupert, though, not one bit at any minute in their life. Why start forcing it to be now?

“If I let you turn me,” Rupert says quietly as they keep clutching the crucifix. “Is it gonna hurt a lot?”

“Not for that long,” Marko says. “I can show you how to make it stop right away.”

“Do I have to do it now?”

“No way, you can think about it.”

Rupert twists the silver cross in their hands as they chew at their bottom lip. “Do I really have to eat people?”

“You’re supposed to at least once,” Marko answers, shrugging. “I was scared at first too and Max made the other guys steal pouches from the blood bank to drink out of until I was ready. I’ll steal some for you too.”

“And is that why I should believe you that I actually have a say in this?”

Marko grabs one of their wrists so they’re holding the crucifix against his neck, not close enough to burn him but close enough to be a threat that makes them gasp out once he’s got them there. “If you really think I’m full of shit, you can gank me right now,” he says, sounding ready to die for them. “Burn me until you can see my throat sticking out or whatever you want, just trust me when I say I’ll leave you alone and make sure none of us ever go near you again if you say no. I promise.”

Rupert snatches their wrist away, making Marko gasp this time before they toss it behind them. “I thought I was only supposed to kill people who deserved it.”

Marko tentatively runs his fingers over their knuckles, looking hopeful. “So you don’t hate me?”

They want to scream at him for hiding this from them and for potentially endangering them both by running off with them, but Rupert doesn’t know how to be anything but authentic. They don’t know how to not be themself and get what they want, which is why they can also admit that, “I don’t know how to hate you.”

“Did you hate your dad?”

“I think I always did.”

The corners of Marko’s mouth twitch up once before he’s got his fingers entwined with theirs. “And that’s why you did that to him?”

Rupert lets their hands be held, nodding as Marko brings them close to his chest where they finally realize they can’t feel a heartbeat. “I wanted to start a revolution.”

“So why not join mine?”

_“Little Genius, you always wanted to run away.”_

And they still do, letting out a shuddery breath as they shake out of Marko’s grip and envelop them so they can put everything they have into a kiss that makes him stumble backward. Once Marko grabs their collar to get a hold of himself, he hums into their mouth and it immediately feels like both are desperate to prove something. Marko guides them so he’s against the wall, effortlessly hiking his legs up to wrap around their hips with whatever super agility he must have and Rupert spreads their hands over his thighs to keep him there. The sounds of them and the creaking of the wood against Marko’s back sound so loud in this large, empty cabin to Rupert’s ears, but not as loud as their heart pounding in them knowing how torn apart they still feel. On one hand, they don’t know if they’ll ever quite forget about Marko hiding this crucial part of himself from them, a part of him that they know means they’re technically kissing a dead person right now. If they let him take them, they’ll be dead too and the idea scares the shit out of them even as they let themself be held by him.

Yet for all the apprehension, Rupert knows they’re basically that to the world already; their family’s never tried to find them, Carla definitely never went searching for them, and aside from Marko and the others, only Mr. Emerson has attempted to get to know him since Kari left and even she hasn’t reached out. Their renter of sorts is nice, sure, but he’s strict and it’s only a matter of time until they’re turned away by him too. Max seems to have high standards too, but if it’s true that the only rules are basic common sense, Rupert doesn’t know what they have to lose. If Marko will really help them like he swears, they’re not sure what the harm is in thinking about turning, about truly abandoning polite society like they’ve dreamed of since birth and all those times they were stuck in a town that never loved them.

About becoming one of those vampires that were supposed to be the reason why Santa Carla was so deadly, something Rupert finds difficult to believe with how gentle Marko is as he noses along their jawline once they pull away for some air. If Marko even needs air anymore, that is.

“Marko,” Rupert whispers, trying not to linger on his hands coming to rest on their chest. “You haven’t done some vampire mind trick to get me to like you, right?”

Marko’s breath against them when he laughs makes their skin tingle. “I only use that when I want to get somebody alone to feed off of,” he says, kissing right underneath their jaw. “Never for anything else. You don’t think I’m a creep, do you?”

“I didn’t think you were a vampire,” Rupert answers.

Marko snorts. “That’s fair. You would know if I did that, though - you remember everything we’ve done, right? Like this?”

Rupert nods, the way Marko lightly gropes the same tits through their shirt that he had his mouth all over while he jerked them off until they came into his fist during their third date making them hide in his temple to conceal the soft groan they let out over it. “And what if you’re just doing it now to throw me off your scent?”

They manage to keep up their usual sarcastic tone as they ask, but it’s a valid question that makes Marko look up and kiss them once. “Everything would be all fuzzy and weird if I did it. If I wanted to fuck you then eat you, I would’ve done it right away, but you’re different, Rupert. You always were and that’s why I want you to take me upstairs and fuck me instead.”

Knowing that Marko’s different too in ways that only become more apparent and less terrifying the longer they’re together, Rupert feels compelled to get the best grip they can on him and carry him away.

Once they’re in their bedroom, Marko encourages them to press him into the sheets and go for it and Rupert’s happy to acquiesce. There’s nothing the two need to learn about each other beyond this final step, nothing stopping them from stripping down and finally seeing every inch of each other after weeks’ long foreplay leading up to this. Marko can finally let his hair down for it to spread out against the pillows while Rupert insists on being the one to finger him open and make him arch while he tells them exactly how to touch him. Rupert can finally completely submit to him as Marko has them lay back and pins their wrists above their head while he rides them steadily and with no barriers between them. It feels different when Marko leans forward to mouth and lick at their neck, Rupert now processing the way he just barely wraps his lips over their skin before grunting and thinking better of it.

They appreciate his restraint, probably figuring that any actual kissing might make them think he’s trying to turn them without permission, but now that Rupert knows just how fantastic it feels to be inside Marko with a promise of total devotion, something awakens in them that they can’t stop.

“What’s it like?”

Marko looks up, moving to hover over their face with an eager little moan. “What’s what like?”

“Turning,” Rupert says, leaning up to whine into his mouth when he grips their wrists tighter. “What does it feel like? When do I know it’s over?”

“Depends.” Marko slows his movements so Rupert can pay attention, the latter enraptured immediately. “After David turned me, it was like a hangover I couldn’t fix. I just wanted to sleep when it was light out, but once it went down, it felt like I had an itch I couldn’t scratch.”

“And how long did it last?”

“Until I fed the first time,” Marko says, smiling before nosing along Rupert’s neck again. “Drinking those bags helped, but it’s not enough. It’s like you want to fight or run a marathon or _fuck_ -”

He moans with Rupert as he clenches around them before he says, “And it doesn’t stop until you eat, but that - that’s like sex too. When you find somebody and you know they’re yours for the night, it’s like you can’t wait to do it. You need it now or else you could die so once you do it and feed off them, you could explode right there once you - _unh_ , once you-”

When Marko comes, he stills and squeezes Rupert’s wrists hard enough to bruise, whining out their name loud enough that they’re sure the horses back in the stable can hear him. This life makes him feel incredible in a way that not only does he deserve to feel but how they both deserve to and once Marko starts moving again so they can get off too, Rupert leans their head back to show off their neck with a whimper of, “Do it.”

“I am, baby,” Marko coos, grinding his hips down against them even as he shivers from oversensitivity. “I’ll get you there, it’s okay.”

“No, no, no,” they whine out as they manage to wrestle out one of their wrists free from his hold and pull his head down to rest against their neck, barely caring about the way he stumbles and has to grab the headboard above them to stay steady. “Bite me, please - turn me now, I want it.”

Rupert swears they feel Marko’s now-soft cock twitch against their stomach, spurning them on to keep him close even as he says, “You can wait, I told you. We don’t even have to do it that way, I can-”

“You said you wanted me to do it how _I_ want,” Rupert says against his temple, kissing there desperately. “So let me, Marko, please. Bite me, bite me, bite me-”

They’re ready to continue chanting that in a soft, whimpering whisper against him until he listens, but they don’t have once they hear a low growl next to their neck as Marko raises up to hiss at him. If it weren’t Marko, Rupert would be scared enough to resist, but the way his face has morphed into something more batlike, his eyes are glowing red, and his fangs are bared and ready to go just makes them curl their fingers deeper in his hair as he says, “Since you asked so nicely.”

The sting from Marko sinking his teeth into their throat doesn’t register at first, Rupert so overwhelmed by feeling them inside them in the first place that they come and thrust up against him the second it happens. It feels like they’re being drained from all sides, the way Marko keeps grinding into them until they’re spent as he drinks greedily from their neck entirely too much for them while just not being enough. Just as Rupert finds themself shaking from the overstimulation of pain and release, Marko’s lifting his hips away and letting go of their neck to gently clean off the drops of blood that remain with his tongue before kissing over the fresh wounds. Rupert’s limbs feel lifeless, barely able to keep their eyes open as they try to catch their breath and listen to the way Marko says, “Hang on, stay with me, this’ll help.”

Their mouth and their throat feel impossibly dry, trying to swallow it down as they hear Marko bite into something else before raising his wrist to their mouth. “Take it,” he says quickly, cupping the back of their head and lifting it for them. “Drink, Rupert, come on.”

On complete impulse, Rupert leans forward and wraps their lips over the open wound on Marko’s skin, the coppery taste of it filling every sense. They feel sick at first, the fact that they’re actually drinking blood making them want to pull away, but it feels like they can’t stop. Once they feel strong enough to not need Marko’s help, Rupert wraps their fingers around his arm and doesn’t stop until Marko has to forcibly pull away, laughing at the way they gasp out. “Feel better now?”

When they open their eyes, Marko’s face is back to normal with his mouth twisted in a hopeful little smile even as it’s covered in their blood. They can see his wrist starting to heal on its own as they imagine their puncture wounds will too and as they feel a small droplet of blood run from their bottom lip down to the neck, Rupert can’t stop the way they lick at their still wet lips and say, “I love you.”

Once Marko reaches out to catch that drop of blood on his finger before lifting it up for Rupert to suck away with a small moan, he smile gets impossibly wider as he leans in and says, “I love you too.”

It certainly isn’t the first time Rupert’s kissed someone while covered in their blood, but it’s the first time they’ve done it that leads to actual, real commitment.

Obviously that bite doesn’t magically mean Rupert’s fully cooked and ready to go; their sleep schedule is completely ruined for the first week, trying to adjust to a nocturnal system while adapting to a single hunger that can’t be easily satiated. They’re able to lie to Mr. Emerson about how it’s just a bad cold while they recuperate during the day before Marko visits them at night with fresh pouches of blood. During his visits, they balance going over the few rules they have to abide by and making love discreetly, both getting giggly or serious depending on the mood. It’s the sort of life on the edge they’ve missed and once they think they’re ready to join the family, Marko helps them move their minimal possessions of the ranch during their final night there even as Mr. Emerson watches the both of them like a hawk.

“Well Mr. Nor Ms. Marshetta,” the old man sighs out as the two of them watch Marko load up the sidecars he’s temporarily attached to their bikes. “I suppose this is it.”

“I suppose so,” they agree, feeling a little bad with how depressed he sounds. “I appreciate what you did for me and if you need any more help around here, I can come visit.”

They and Marko both know they never can, but it feels nice to say anyway, even if Mr. Emerson declines. “It’s probably best I stay out of you lovebirds' way.”

“That’s really nice of you.”

“I gotta tell you somethin’, though, Rupert,” he says, narrowing his eyes at them and the black crop top they’ve got on over a long-sleeved mesh sweater. “You two would be best to mind your Ps and Qs out there, ‘specially on the boardwalk.”

Marko laughs even as he tries to fit all of Rupert’s tools inside of their respective sidecar. “You don’t have to worry about that, sir, we’re cool.”

“Sure you are, but, just don’t do something stupid like eat somebody rich, alright?”

Rupert and Marko both stop dead in their tracks and glare at him, Marko looking defensive and Rupert feeling like they’ve been caught in the middle of the act. “Mr. Emerson, what do you-”

Mr. Emerson raises his hand politely at Rupert, turning on his heels to head back inside but not until he looks back and tuts. “It’s just my luck that one of the smartest kids in this whole damn town gets caught up with a vampire. I told you, friend - I’ve never forgotten the signs. Don’t you forget ‘em either.”

For the first time in their life as the old man heads inside the house with a wave, Rupert actually feels like they’ve earned some respect from an older figure and it feels goddamn _good._

The only authority figure they’re tasked with dealing with now is Max, but just as Marko said, he seems to wash his hands of whatever his kids, as it were, do. He gives them a lecture when Marko takes them to be properly introduced about how they should carry themself and Marko does get chewed out for letting the wrong head do the decision-making, but as long as Rupert can abide by his terms, they'll be fine. Those terms do seem like heaven, too, the group celebrating once Rupert and Marko finally settle in at Hudson’s Bluff despite the way David gives Marko shit for leaving them out of their turning. He seems downright tickled too when Rupert says they’re lucky they got to keep Marko to themself so Paul wouldn’t try to steal Marko away, but despite his ire, Paul eventually shakes their hand and congratulates them for being the one to tie him down. All of them have their own way of celebrating, Dwayne quietly giving them a masculine smack on the back, Laddie whooping over a new older sibling that knows how to make all sorts of cool stuff, and Star agreeing to give them a third piercing when they ask for it so they can show off that new black skull earring of theirs in the cartilage of their right ear.

The group doesn’t even mind when Marko wants to help properly initiate Rupert by himself, this connection meant for just the two of them. Rupert lasts another week purely on pouches before they get restless enough to want more and Marko has the perfect first meal for them in mind. Instead of their bikes, Marko encourages them to try flying to find it and even if he has to hold their hands to guide them when they’re first in the air, Rupert loves how weightless they feel while they trail over the greatest view of Santa Carla the world has to offer. It’s like the whole city is now their kingdom with Marko as their liege and it makes them realize just how much better their life is going to be now that they’re here.

Rupert was never a prince, but as they and Marko corner that pig that wanted to arrest them for showing off what they mean to each other and feed off him in the dead of night, they finally remember what it feels like to be some sort of royalty.


End file.
